While Anderson only suffered a minor arm and nerve injury, Spector's injuries are far worse and it is touch and go for quite a while, but he pulls through only to appear to have amnesia. Paul thinks it is six years prior and has no knowledge of any of the crimes he confessed to previously and Gibson is understandably frustrated, plus she and her team are being reviewed for the shooting that happened while Spector was in their custody.
Meanwhile, Spector's young lover, Katie Benedetto (Aisling Franciosi) is frantic about seeing Paul, since he has been shot, but her mother is keeping her home and her parole forbids contact. She seeks out a friend for help, only to find out that this same girl has posted some nasty things about Paul, which causes Katie to attack her in the hopes that Paul will be impressed.
The only good thing to come out of the entire situation is the fact that Rose Stagg (Valene Kane) was discovered in the truck of her car, barely alive, but alive nonetheless. She is able to shed some light on Paul and what he did to her, but the amnesia is still preventing the case from moving forward. That is, until a thorough search of similar crimes reveals a murder from London some 10 years before and the man serving time for the crime is a childhood friend and someone who lived in the same hellhole that Spector did as a child. And a young Paul Spector is seen on camera in the vicinity of the murder victim and her supposed killer. When Gibson and Anderson talk to the man, they discover that he tells a completely different story than Spector did regarding his time there and they just might have what they need to nail him, since this murder occurs during the time he says he remembers. Even his fancy new lawyer, Healy (Aiden McArdle, from HUMANS and also Clean Break) and his co-counsel Wallace (Ruth Bradley, also from HUMANS) might not be able to save him from this one. But does Spector truly have amnesia or is he faking it?
When he is sent to a psychiatric facility to determine whether he is fit to stand trial, they may just be giving this charismatic serial killer the ammunition he needs to avoid prison, in more ways than one.
I liked the Fall: Series 3 the least of all three seasons, simply because it was really slow in comparison to the others. There were a few exciting moments, but overall, the pacing was just slow and boring as they built up the scenario with Spector having amnesia. I understand that it's difficult to wrap up a story arc like that of the Belfast Strangler, but I just found it dull. The acting is still terrific, so it has nothing to do with that, it just seemed lacking in excitement, especially when compared to the previous two series. However, those who have been following the arc will want to see how it plays out.
It has been renewed, on the chance that showrunner and writer Alan Cubitt finds another interesting story for Stella Gibson, and if another one comes out, I will be keen to see it, since I have enjoyed her as the flawed, but tough-as-nails investigator. This release includes some deleted scenes and a behind-the-scenes featurette, plus photo gallery. While the featurette and scenes are interesting to watch, they aren't earth-shattering.
Overall, don't come into the show at this point (start at the beginning) but I do recommend seeing it and, since it isn't on Acorn TV, you may have to check Netflix or buy/rent this release.
